Axel Steel
Axel Steel is a character in the ''Guitar Hero'' series. He is one of only a handful of characters to appear in every game in the series, a distinction only shared with Johnny Napalm and Judy Nails. He represents the Heavy Metal style in all of the games; more specifically, the "old school" of Heavy Metal, i.e. the precursors from the 1970s and 1980s. Biographies We all know Axel Steel is an awesome guitar player, and that he's the common thread in the legendary bands SideWinder, HellDozer, and MegaThreat. But did you know he got his first guitar out of a pool hall trash bin? Or that his first big break came while hauling equipment for Dopple Ganger? Their guitarist passed out temporarily - and Axel stepped in - permanently. If he's not tearing into the guitar, Axel says he likes to draw motorcycles and skulls, just like he did in school. His friend and band mate, Skip Alldaway, says Axel plays guitar so fast, "there should be caution labels on his albums".-''Guitar Hero'' manual bio. No frills, no fluff. Axel Steel is a shredder from the old school. He was put on this planet for two things, to drink beer and to play some Rock N' Roll. Looks like he's almost out of beer.- Guitar Hero in-game bio. Famous for his driving riffs and up-front attitude, Axel Steel first picked up a guitar in an attempt to quell his boredom during suspension from elementary school. The rest is history. Metal history. - Guitar Hero II in-game bio Just a city boy, born and raised in South Peoria, Axel Steel is a fan of arena rock and partyin' in the parking lot. King of the stadium show and master of the tailgate, Axel Steel is a hard-riffin' powerhouse. - Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s in-game bio '' ''After attaining genuine superstar status, Axel retreated to hometown bonfire parties and barnyard jam sessions. Now he's back in the limelight and looking to destroy anyone and anything dull enough to stand in his path of headbanging destruction! - Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, and ''Guitar Hero: Van Halen in-game bio'' In his recent published autobiography 'Broken Axel', the noticeably more mature man of Steel wrote, 'I killed emo. And disco still sucks.' '' - ''Guitar Hero 5 in-game bio As a matter of fact Axel's back, he's got halls packed from front to back, surfing rowdy crowds and playing loud; without doubt this rocking lout returns for one more bout. - Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, human form description Axel feels the blood of rock beating in his veins, taking his music to a new level undreamed of by humankind. Where once there was inspiration now here lives genius. - Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Warrior/Spirit form description Appearance and Outfits In all of the games, Axel's basic appearance is that of a muscular young man, with medium-length brown hair. In the Neversoft installments, he looks significantly older, has a slight five-o'clock shadow, and has more hardened features. ''Guitar Hero'' Axel wears a black, short-sleeved T-shirt with a ripped-sleeve denim jacket and somewhat old jeans, he has a light brown semi-long haircut. ''Guitar Hero II'' Shirt He wears a long-sleeved shirt under his denim jacket, with spikes protruding from the shoulders. He lost a lot of weight in the game and has a costume called other shirt. Other Shirt Since they don't make you play better and you can't drink 'em, Axel has zero interest in clothes. But even Axel needs a change once in awhile. - Shop description His alternate outfit is a basic navy blue worker's shirt with a pair of black jeans and cowboy boots. In addition, in the Xbox 360 version, he sports mutton chops when wearing this outfit. ''Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s'' Axel wears a purple track jacket, black shoes and a black band on his head. Aside from that, he does not look much different from his Guitar Hero II incarnation. ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' Jeans Axel wears, in layers, a T-shirt, under a leather jacket, itself under a denim vest. His pants are basic denim slashed at the thighs, and he wears hi-top basketball sneakers. *'Black 'n Blue:' Black jacket, blue denim, petrol blue T-shirt with a flaming skull logo. All-white sneakers. The back of the vest has a logo of a devil stylized like an old serial film villain (widow's peak hair and thin mustache). *'Black 'n Red:' Black jacket and denim, red T-shirt with a bonfire of bones logo. White and black sneakers. The back of the vest has a logo of a speared eyeball, similar to the Neversoft logo. *'Stonewashed:' Black jacket, white denim, teal T-shirt with a fist-and-star logo. White and red sneakers. The back of the vest has a logo of a bloodied dagger. *'Red Leather:' Red jacket, white denim vest, blue denim pants, black T-shirt with no logo. Black sneakers. The back of the vest has no logo. Shorts For when Axel needs a bit more mobility. Like playing a 4-hour set to 20,000 people in 115 degree weather at an all day festival in Brazil. - Shop description This outfit is a tribute to the late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Axel wears a buttoned-up vest, cargo shorts, wristbands, a pair of high-top skate shoes and quarter cut black socks just above them. In addition, he also sports a long goatee (with the exception of the "Brown Vest" palette). He wears a trucker's cap in the Xbox 360/Playstation 3/PC versions, and in all versions of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (in the PS2/Wii versions of GH3, he is bareheaded). *'Black Vest:' Black vest, cap and sneakers, green camo shorts, tip of the goatee is dyed red. *'Brown Vest:' Brown vest, grey shorts, black cap, blue sneakers. Instead of a goatee, Axel sports only a biker mustache. *'White Vest:' White vest, olive camo shorts, orange cap, red sneakers, tip of the goatee is dyed orange. *'Stripes:' Black and gray striped vest with white undershirt, blue jean shorts, black cap and sneakers. Axel's hair is a dirty blond in this outfit, including his goatee, which does not have the tip dyed. Guitar Hero: On Tour Shirt Axel has the same outfit as his default outfit in GH3. Other Shirt No Shirt Axel wears a black leather jacket, black jeans, black socks with gray toes and heels and no shoes. ''Guitar Hero: World Tour'' Axel wears the "Black Vest" style from his "Shorts" outfit in GH3, except his shoes are changed. * Torso : No Sleeves, Please * Pants : Camo Whamo! * Shoes : Feet On Fire * Accessories : Diamond Head (left arm), Leathery Spike (right arm) ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'' Pieces worn by default (these can be changed in Rock Star Creator): * Torso: The Wreckless One * Pants: James Old School * Shoes: Axel Kickers * Accessories: Rings ''Guitar Hero: Smash Hits'' Axel wears the "Black N Blue" style from his "Jeans" outfit in GH3. * Torso: Fire Proof * Pants: Metal Head Basics * Shoes: Axel Kickers ''Guitar Hero 5'' Axel has four alternate attires in the game. Three of them can be unlocked after beating certain challenges with the correct instruments. Unlike the previous band entries, his outfits cannot be changed (instead, their pieces are unlocked for use on custom characters). #'Stormbringer': Default outfit. Axel wears a black leather vest over a red plaid vest over a sleeveless skull-print T-shirt (Layered Vest), black pants torn at the knees with a black bandanna hanging at the waist (Junkers) and black combat boots (like Floppy Combatants, but the pant legs are worn inside the boots). #Battlescar #Hog Wild #Shoulder Blades ''Guitar Hero: Van Halen'' Axel wears the exact same outfit from World Tour except he wears Rings on the left arm instead of Diamond Head. ''Band Hero'' In Band Hero, Axel's appearance is greatly different from his previous appearances. But his first default outfit as seen in GH5 appears in this game. #'Digby': Axel can now be seen with a different haircut and sporting a goatee while wearing a black t-shirt with a gold design on it, jeans with a long chain hanging off the belt, black boots, a spiked bracelet on his left arm and a black wristband with yellow letters on it on his right arm. ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'' Normal form Axel looks very similar to his previous incarnations. Axel's transformation is a clear reference to Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, specifically his Powerslave-era incarnation. Warrior form Axel becomes a mummy with his torso destroyed, leaving only his spine visible from the chest down. Axel's guitar, Sacryfyce, resembles a Gibson Flying V with a pyramid-like design. ''Guitar Hero Live'' While not appearing in the game physically, Axel's name is shown to be one of the nine opponents in GHTV's Premium Shows. Songs associated with Axel Steel ''Guitar Hero'' Quickplay Songs *"Iron Man" - Black Sabbath *"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest *"Heart Full of Black" - Burning Brides *"No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age *"Bark at the Moon" - Ozzy Osbourne *"Fire It Up" - Black Label Society *"All of This" - Shaimus *"Story of My Love" - The Model Sons ''Guitar Hero II'' Quickplay Songs *"Mother" - Danzig *"Strutter" - KISS *"War Pigs" - Black Sabbath *"Freya" - The Sword *"Hangar 18" - Megadeth *"Arterial Black" - Drist *"Six" - All That Remains *"The Light That Blinds" - Shadows Fall *"Thunderhorse" - Dethklok ''Warriors of Rock'' Setlist *"Pour Some Sugar on Me" (Live) - Def Leppard *"Jet City Woman" - Queensrÿche *"Ghost" - Slash featuring Ian Astbury *"Unskinny Bop" - Poison *"Modern Day Cowboy" - Tesla *"(You Can Still) Rock in America" - Night Ranger *"Burn" - Deep Purple *"Indians" - Anthrax *"Bat Country" - Avenged Sevenfold (Encore) Resurrector Basic Effects The player can earn up to 2 Ankhs that will revive him/her with the rock meter in the yellow section should he/she fail the song. Any Ankhs left over when the song ends will be converted into one power star each. + Effects The player can now earn up to 5 Ankhs rather than 2. Trivia *The first part of Axel's Rock the 80's bio is a reference to a line in the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'". The line in Axel's Rock the 80's bio reads, "Just a city boy, born and raised in South Peoria." The line in "Don't Stop Believin'" goes, "Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit." *Axel's bio in the original Guitar Hero features a reference to a famous line from the 1988 film They Live. The line in Axel's bio reads, "He was put on this planet for two things, to drink beer and to play some Rock N' Roll. Looks like he's almost out of beer." The line in They Live goes, "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass... And I'm all out of bubble gum." *While Neversoft has reused Axel's bio text from Guitar Hero III up until Metallica, the text from World Tour onwards contains only the first sentence, for reasons unexplained. *According to Warriors of Rock's custom rocker creator, the names of Axel's bandmates are Carlos(singer), Hannah(bassist), and Mason(drummer). Gallery Axel Steel (GH1).jpg|Axel as he appears in the first game Axel Steel (GH1) - icon.jpg|Select screen icon from the first game axel steel gh1 model.png|Model from the first game (was used as a placeholder in GH2 and Rocks the 80s) Guitar Hero 2 PS2.jpg|Axel Steel (right) on the cover of GH2 Axel Steel (GH2).jpg|Axel as he appears in GH2 (default "Shirt" outfit) Axel Steel (GH2) - Other Shirt.jpg|Axel as he appears in GH2 ("Other Shirt" outfit) Steel.PNG|Axel as he appears in GH3 (default "Jeans" outfit) Axel_Steel_(GH3).jpg|Concept art for GH3 Axel Steel (GH3) - colors.jpg|Axel's palettes for "Jeans" outfit in GH3 (L-R) Black 'n Blue, Black 'n Red, Stonewashed, Red Leather Axel_Steel_(GH3)_-_alternate.jpg|Concept art for alternate outfit in GH3 Axel Steel (GH3) - alt colors.jpg|Axel's palettes for "Shorts" outfit in GH3 (L-R) Black Vest, Brown Vest, White Vest, Stripes Axel Steel (GHWT).jpg|Default outfit in World Tour Axel_Steel_(WoR)_-_playing.jpg|Concept art for Warriors of Rock Warrior_Axel.jpg|Concept art for Warrior form in Warriors of Rock Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Playable Characters Category:Protagonist Category:Characters from Guitar Hero III: Ledgends of Rock